Mark Cavendish may compete in the Giro d'Italia in July as he prepares to return to the Tour de France in Astana-Kazakstan.

At the Tour of Oman, team manager Alexandre Vinokurov revealed that he and the Manxman had discussed the possibility of competing in two Grand Tours.

"We want to win the race by then and focus on the Giro and the Tour," Vinokurov told Cycling News at the Tour of Oman, acknowledging Cavendish's possible participation in the Corsa Rosa.

"I don't know until the finish, but a stage win is always a good motivation to prepare and to relax and go into the Tour. We'll see later, but anyway, it's an idea and Mark is open to it. The more races I do, the better I think it will be."

Cavendish has 16 wins in the Giro, most recently winning in Balatonfured in the opening week last year. Quick-Step did not select Cavendish for last year's Tour, instead going with Fabio Jacobsen.

Cavendish left Quick-Step at the end of the season and was initially assigned to B&B Hotels, but the team collapsed in November and he eventually moved to Astana Kazakstan.

Cavendish made his debut with Vinokurov's team at the Muscat Classic and Tour of Oman and will be back in action next week on the UAE Tour.

The Tour of Oman's rugged terrain gave Cavendish's only realistic chance of success on day one.

The UAE Tour will feature sprints by Merlier, Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Caleb Yuan (Lotto DSTNY), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Sam Welsford (Team DSM).

The Tour de France will be the center of Cavendish's season as he looks for his historic 35th stage win, but his schedule will be busy from here through July.

Cavendish's schedule in March will follow the familiar pattern of competing in Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo before moving north to Belgium.

"After the UAE, it's Tirreno, then Milan - San Remo.

"After that he will do some racing in Belgium. After a little rest, he'll do the Tour of Turkey and the Giro. There are four or five days in between."